August 13, 2007
Geriatric Rock And Rollers And Exit, Voice and Loyalty
Per this post on generational differences in views on social justice, EdWize's Leo Casey emphasizes which side of the generation gap he calls home by basing his critique of the post on a song written in 1965 - back when NYC subway fares were still 15-cents and a full two decades earlier than the birth of the average college graduate this past spring!!!
Leo does make a good point that I can't fully claim that teachers at charter schools named after civil rights leaders have chosen to work in non-unionized settings without sworn affadavits claiming they were forced into employment against their will. He notes that we don't know how teachers in those schools would have voted in a unionization election because those elections have never been held. But whose fault is that? The charter schools or the flat-footed labor unions who can't seem to get their shit act together to go in and organize? (In all fairness, it can't be easy to organize in schools you are trying to whack at the same time.)
While Leo may be quick to pooh-pooh the motivations of anyone who was born after he started teaching back in the day, I think he's making a mistake by trashing the modern-day appeal of empowerment through exit. There are a lot more options for educators these days. Remember Albert Hirschman's theory that people in crappy situations will typically exit (if they can, and if there are appealing alternatives) or voice (where they become determined to stay and fight to improve the situation)?? Just because yesterday's generation prized voice, doesn't mean that younger teachers/employees don't understand and appreciate that they can easily bolt to greener pastures these days if need be. The key dynamic seems to be where loyalty kicks in. (Hirschman argued that where 'loyalty' exists in organizations and institutions, exit is reduced.)
Which organizations and institutions are the ones inspiring loyalty among young educators today? Teachers unions which seem to be speaking a different language than young teachers? Large, impersonal public education bureaucracies which sometimes don't even seem capable of getting paychecks cut to teachers with any degree of reliability? Overgrown government institutions, in general? (Ask a 25-year-old whether she expects to get a Social Security check after the baby Boomers cash out...)
Can you fault them for flocking to something that is perceived to be better?
The people at EdWize are smart enough not to seek my advice, but getting back to the original post on generational shifts, this is how I would have responded if I was speaking on behalf of a forward-thinking teachers union which actually operates a charter school or two:
"Thoughtfully-designed, publicly-accountable charter schools run by unionized teachers can offer the best of both worlds. They can attract - and give voice - to teachers who want to be "at the table" and exercise workplace democracy, but they also can serve as important outlets for teachers who truly want to cut through all the bureaucratic garbage of existing systems to best serve the academic needs of kids who are in desperate need of a great education."
Education is filled with all sorts of goofy either/or propositions (either we teach kids to decode words or we teach them a love of reading - that sort of garbage). I'd say something like, "That idiot Joe Williams thinks you either have to be an old geezer wearing a fanny-pack at the union delegate assembly or you have to be a young Ivy Leaguer obsessed with working 70-hour weeks to get your kids up to grade level. But what he doesn't tell you is that we can provide an exciting outlet in our charter schools that fairly meets everyone's professional needs and desires. For teachers who choose to go that route, of course."
In most states, the only force standing in the way of teachers unions from doing this happens to be... teachers unions!
If the unions can find a way to craft a message that doesn't piss on the inspiring motivations of young, energetic teachers who are out so save the world, they might actually start getting young teachers to participate more in union activities. The leadership could then stop whining about charter schools not doing their organizing work for them and they could just go in and do it. Blaming organized labor's laziness on WalMart (Leo couldn't help himself) is getting tiresome. Complaining that management is making it too hard to organize in charter schools sounds like a football team that whines about how hard it is to move the ball toward the end zone when there is another team is on the field.
The kids are all right, dudes!
